Apple on Tuesday evening provided iPhone developers with a second beta of iPhone 3.1, the first update to its third-generation mobile operating system, while Mac developers saw a new incremental build of Snow Leopard.

As in March, Apple at WWDC showcased a swath of new apps that take advantage of everything iPhone OS 3.0 can do. AppleInsider has some of the highlights, including the first-ever true, turn-by-turn GPS app for the iPhone.

Starting Thursday, iPhone app developers will have no choice but to test against iPhone OS 3.0 if they want to guarantee their places in the App Store, and have been warned their existing apps may be pulled if support breaks.

Two weeks ago, Apple presented its new iPhone 3.0 Software Development Kit to a select group of iPhone developers, then allowed them to take the stage and show off what they could create on the new platform.

In offering a preview look at the new iPhone OS 3.0 platform, senior vice president of iPhone software Scott Forstall announced that Apple has added over a thousand new Application Programming Interfaces to allow developers greater access to the mobile device's features, from peer to peer discovery to peripheral hardware support to background notifications.

Apple on Thursday announced plans to hold a special media event for journalists on its Cupertino-based campus that will offer a sneak preview of the next-generation iPhone operating system dubbed iPhone 3.0.

Apple's ability to process iPhone developer contracts is quickly turning into a minor crisis as what was once a smooth process is rapidly turning into a months-long backlog that threatens to keep new developers out of the App Store.

On the one-year anniversary of third-party iPhone app development, developers need to renew their contracts to avoid having their software pulled from the App Store but are facing difficulties in getting Apple to cooperate in time.

Apple's prospects for present and future growth land it on a Top 25 list, an iPhone app for kids authored by a 9-year old is gaining popularity on the App Store, and new animations could eventually make their way into Safari in this roundup of recent news.

After leaving its once-touted background push data feature by the wayside, Apple is now reportedly mulling an option that would let iPhone apps run third-party background processes and give the phone true app multitasking.

Once thought to be building Flash for the iPhone mostly on its own, Adobe has mentioned at the World Economic Forum that it's not only continuing work on the animation plug-in but has teamed up with Apple to make it a reality.

With a little work and the help of an undocumented feature in Apple's iPhone Software Developers Kit, one iPhone developer was able to turn its game into a version suited for playback on big-screen TVs.